#unknown route

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo’s tendency to push his way into the spotlight despite clearly being a natural in the shadows. Hell, you could argue that his worst moments are when he’s forcing himself onstage, and his best are when he does things no one notices until it’s already been done.

[viviuilo0]

happy birthday, twins choi <3

[amagicalduckling]

Unfair

Him crying just make me cry too, he tries the most not to show weakness and you just know he truly reached his limit

[fr7204]

You think Ray is an angel?

Saeran on V's route tells you otherwise...

[harbingersecho]

I don't feel pain I never escape I'm under the bed I'm licking the floor

[pocketgalaxies]

thinking about if/how the loss of opal as we know her will affect at all their perception of protecting the gods, especially compounded with fcg's death. when you reunite with someone you've missed so much and all he has to tell you is that his brother was killed by a god and his friend was forcibly surrendered to serve that god in the name of self-protection from predathos. when your best friend found so much hope in their god and went on this journey with you feeling like they were doing the work of a god who helped him find purpose, and all there is to show for it is a pile of scrap metal. how do you reconcile the idea that your mission is to defeat this entity that threatens the gods, when the gods are relentlessly demanding sacrifice and death from the people you love in order to protect themselves. how can you not think for at least a moment that maybe the gods deserve to be destroyed

[aurorangen]

That morning's conversation replayed in Vincent's head. All 3 people sitting in front of him work at the police station, the very same station that led the disappearance case 20 years ago. Even though he felt guilty concealing information, he'll wait a bit longer and forget about it for the time being. But he kept on wondering - why was Isaac so tentative about detectives anyway?

[victarin]

WHY DO I FIND YOUR VERSION OF SUN ODDLY ATTRACTIVE WHAT IS GOING ON!?!!??!??!??

Send help

IM CACKLINGGG YOURE SO REAL FOR THIS !!!!!!!

[estherchoiart]

The last month of summer, with this heat, you just want to cool off. (｡•́︿•̀｡)

In my mind I imagined Saeran coming up to me and saying:

Do you want an ice cream my love? ♡

It was so beautiful, I needed to draw it, before I finished this season. ૮꒰ྀིʃƪ´˘`〃꒱ა

Saeran in his new summer cover is being idol, I will support him as the best fan I can be. ୧(⑅˃ᗜ˂⑅)୨

I really liked the details like his mint nails. I'm so grateful to be able to see him again. 🩷

Even if it's in my imagination, he lives in my heart. (❁´◡`❁)

Ｉ Lᵒᵛᵉᵧₒᵤ♡

[quintessential-candles]

Hi mysme tumblr you guys liked the last one so have one of the others

In terms of getting away with murder:

[de-salva]

... untitled (US Route 50) / photographer unknown

[schmellows]

Tiny mans reference sheet (+ mc)

Unkown's tattoo is taken from here (CLIP image material)

[spacepatrolhana]

my high school crush

[password-door-lock]

“Unknown,” you address your boss tentatively, knowing that you’re taking a risk by speaking to him at all when he’s in this state. “What’s wrong?”

It’s not unusual for Unknown to storm into rooms, nor is it particularly out of character for him to slam doors. You’d have to be a fool not to see the anger simmering behind his every expression— but his mood has sweetened significantly over the course of the past several days, so this outburst is a tad unexpected. “Where’s—” 

You’re cut off by the sound of metal skidding across linoleum as Unknown kicks over the cat’s water bowl. The food bowl is next; pieces of kibble scatter everywhere, and the dish sails into the wall. “That bastard ambushed us while we were walking outside,” Unknown reports. He is positively seething. “He put her in his car and he drove away with her. And I— I just stood there, I—” He growls low in his throat, apparently too overcome to formulate the appropriate words to describe the encounter. 

“Oh, Unknown.” Immediately, you’re on your feet and across the room, your hands hovering over Unknown’s back. You wouldn’t dream of touching him at all without his explicit permission. His only response is to pound his fist against the wall in what you assume is anguish. “I’m so sorry.” You know how much he loved that cat, even if he never gave her a name or told you where she came from. 

“Why—” Unknown cuts himself off. It takes you a moment to realize that he’s holding back tears— oh, god. You’ve seen him upset, of course, but never this upset. He’s never cried in front of you before, never shown you such palpable grief until now. “Why— why does he—” Unknown pounds on the wall again, accompanying the violent gesture with a sound so utterly feral that it makes you flinch. 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” you attempt to soothe him as best you can. “We can get her back.” You can’t imagine how horrible this 707 person must be, to invade Magenta just to kidnap Unknown’s cat. You’re still not sure why your boss adopted the creature, but he surprised you with his tenderness and consideration toward her. It’s clear that he was genuinely fond of her, regardless of his nebulous reasons for suddenly bringing her into the intelligence room. 

“He only wants to ruin my life.” Unknown manages, pressing his face against the cool wall. “That’s why he did this. Just to hurt me and fuck up my plan. He doesn’t— fuck, it’s not like he actually gives a shit.” For good measure, Unknown kicks the cat’s food bowl again. "And even after knowing that, I still left him alive!" You should have known that this was about more than just the cat's abduction.

You’d like to invite Unknown to look at you, but you already know he'd never listen. It’s plain from his erratic breathing and stuffy speech that your boss is crying. “I know. It's not your fault. You did everything you could have in the moment, I'm sure.” You offer the most calming words you can muster in a situation like this. “But it’s like you keep saying, right, boss? Between you and him, you’re the better hacker. That guy—” you know better than to refer to 707 by name when Unknown is in this frantic state— “Won’t stand a chance. I'm sure you'll be able to get her back again."

“You don’t know anything,” Unknown grumbles, though his pained sobs have transformed into belligerent sniffles. Your words seem to be helping him, which follows— Unknown is often calmed by your assurances of his superiority over his opponent. “You’re just making shit up and telling me what I want to hear. You think I don't know that?”

He isn’t wrong, strictly speaking, but it’s not like you have a choice. All you know about the situation is what he’s told you, which isn’t very much at all. You know that 707 is a bad person who has hurt your boss and the Savior, and you now know that he arrived at Magenta out of nowhere for the express purpose of stealing a cat. You’re not sure exactly what Unknown’s plan is, and as much as you dislike the idea of him taking any kind of revenge, you do like the thought of the cat coming back to the intelligence room. Unknown loved her, and she was starting to grow on you before she got taken.  

“That’s my job,” you remind him with a forced smile. It’s painful to see him like this, vengeful and desperate. “I’m sure you’ll meet the cat again. And in the meantime, maybe you could think of something to name her, so we don’t have to just call her ‘cat.’” Maybe keeping your tone light and playful will help Unknown rebuild his confidence. You thought you hated seeing him bent over his worn-down keyboard, until you had to see him sobbing against the wall.

“She already has a name,” he grumbles, “Elizabeth the Third.” 

“The third,” you muse. It’s not the kind of name you’d imagine Unknown giving to his cat, especially considering the awkward way it rolls off his tongue. “So you’re saying you want three cats? I think I could get on board with that.”

“One is enough.” Unknown pushes off from the wall, and you scramble backwards to avoid a collision. “Well.” He holds his head up high, as though nothing has happened— clearly, he’s managed to compose himself enough to return to his work. Though your heart is broken for him, you won't force him to discuss anything when he clearly isn't ready to. “Now that the cat is gone, you can have your spot back.” He stalks over to his desk chair, settles into the seat, and waits for you to establish yourself on his lap before rolling the chair as close as it can get to the computer. 

“I’ll enjoy it while I can,” you offer a conspiratorial wink to his reflection in the monitor. “Since I’m sure you’ll have your cat— Elizabeth the third— back in a few days. Then I'll be back to the couch, right?" 

In lieu of a response, Unknown just returns to his aggressive typing.

[thelongestway]

Fun fact #1: do you have any idea how annoying counter-terrorism literature is?

Fun fact #2: the number of brennans on this ship was largely decided by dice roll. Which means that the "oops, (nearly) all brennans" thing was preordained from above.

Author's note: I have also edited some tone things that were bothering me in chapters 6 and 7. I do have the older version saved separately, but I think the tone changes stay.

And so, without further ado...

Chapter 8

The first thing Captain Reed said after ke and kes senior staff all piled into this Friend's cramped work room was, "I find it difficult to believe telling a single ship to go shovel its own dung is enough to trigger a full-scale manhunt. If this is about your safety, Atmir Ran…"

"With regards to this Friend, they likely believe that it had lied about its identity or stowed away on one of the six vessels it could have used, including yours, and are continuing to run a routine search. Its safety is not the issue."

Iceblink snorted, and Captain Reed raised a hand to shush her.

"So. What is our issue, then, according to this Friend?" ke said coldly.

"Is Navigator Brisote here?"

The heavy-set, bearded brennan who had been leaning against an empty corner nodded sharply.

"This Friend remembers from navigation logs that the way you escaped the detection of Dandelion's speed by corporate parties was by going in a zigzag via transit rings all owned by different corporations--a route too implausible to seriously consider, and via parties that have no reason to ask each other about the exact time of your departure from the previous point. Is this Friend's assessment correct?"

Brisote exchanged looks with Reed and said, "And with plausible alternate exit routes for each jump. We give false routes where required and switch wormhole networks, too. If that false trail isn't a rot to set…"

"This measure will no longer suffice."

"Again, I fail to see how one less than courteous exchange…"

"This is not about the manhunt, Captain Reed." This was going to be the trickiest part of the argument. "Your problem is that they are bored, and you drew their attention while they have time and resources to burn."

"Cut to the chase already," Iceblink said, perching on the terminal table. "What exactly in the false trail isn't supposed to work?"

"Briefly put, your trail will stop any agencies recognizing one another within a cooperation framework--which, in the Rim, is most of them, and which is far too fragmented to be of any use. But BreharWallHan is conducting a counter-terrorism operation. So the assorted experts are running their searches within a mutual recognition framework."

The crew exchanged looks which told the Friend they were completely lost. Then Dandelion's voice sounded out of a speaker.

"Effectively, this means BreharWallHan doesn't have to ask for information and then wait until someone decides whether they can get it or not. It can order other corporate entities to provide it, and they will have to do so quickly."

This Friend wondered briefly if Dandelion had sneaked past many borders back in her day. It nodded to the speaker.

"Correct. And you were the only ship to flip them off about a routine, but high-priority, inquiry. They will still be looking for this Friend, of course, but that's a much broader pool of requests to wait on, and they haven't yet collected the bulk of their traces. They're also still waiting on Preservation Station giving them the run-around, so they are extra pissed.

"And you? You're right here. You went through a few wormholes whose authorities BWH will have easy access to, because they're local and probably know their counterparts, one palm greasing another. And BWH has nothing but the time and inspiration to mess with you. Which they are doing, if the barrage of clearly pointless requests is anything to go by."

Recognition dawned on the crew's faces. The logistics officer, Phoibe, muttered some sort of incomprehensible swear.

"So the moment enough traces come back, they see the inconsistencies. How many sources of information do they have to draw on?" ke inquired.

This Friend bared its teeth. "Plenty. One is the PFTCS, which will allow them to track wormhole use fees, unless you have been using multiple financial proxies in the Rim itself." Phoibe shook kes head. "Another is the PNSR, which is the passenger name and security re…"

"Enough. Out of the quicksand, into the bog, up to our knees and drowning." Captain Reed said. "The initial conversation with the BreharWallHan ship was yesterday early in the morning. It has been approximately a cycle by Preservation time. What do we have to work with?"

"Even the request will be heavily encrypted, proprietary data. It will need to be carried by a transport, which means BWH probably paid one of the departing vessels for it. If you give this Friend data on those ships, it can try to narrow it down. Then, the nearest jump out of Preservation territory is five days, and this Friend sees no reason they'd take a longer route."

"Sunwinds sharp! We can easily outpace that," Brisote said, relieved.

"And what then?" Iceblink glared at kem. "How long from the wormhole until the transport is in feed range and can pass on the packet?"

"Three hours until the transit station in the worst case scenario, and you would need to either board them or hack them, and remove the request," the Friend said. "This would be a closely cut operation."

Iceblink nodded darkly and patted the dark terminal. "Close, but doable."

"But what's stopping them from just re-sending the request with the next ship?" Phoibe asked.

"This Friend proposes to make certain they forget about the request. If you will permit it, it will show itself in the transit ring and lead them on a merry chase. At this point, BWH will have other things to do, and any requests assumed lost…" It gave it a moment of thought. "This Friend shall endeavor to make sure there is a good explanation for that. Bring down a proprietary feed or two on the way out."

"This is all well and good," Captain Reed said. "But it would mean trusting you again."

This Friend felt a pang of shame and regret. It dithered before replying.

And that meant Iceblink answered for it.

"Actually, captain, we don't have to rely on just the Friend's good graces. Dandelion, didn't you say that PresAlli drone hacker you worked with was freelance? Can we hire it to run backup?"

[mysticmessengerenglish]

Happy #FlashbackFriday ! Did you ever wonder how Saeran broke into MC's 14th story window? One of our arists, @sushioasis , answered this question on a panel in March 2022!